Practice Makes Perfect

I had toyed with the idea of titling this post as "Poopoo in the Potty", but didn't know how many of you would appreciate that jumping out at you on this beautiful weekend.  But sure enough, Ella went poopoo in the potty on Friday morning!

I shared a story earlier on--when Ella was right around a year old--about how she made the sign for "potty" when my husband farted.  So for the last six months or so, she has definitely been aware of bodily functions.  I would rather not have to worry about cleaning out a little potty, so about a month ago, we got one of those fancy toilet seats that has a smaller opening for a child.  We've been letting Ella sit on it before her bath (and really, whenever she takes an interest in it), but she hasn't done anything in it yet.  But Friday morning, as we were getting ready to sit down for breakfast she asked "poopoo?".  So I honored her request and ran down the hall with her to the bathroom, figuring that I going to be changing her out of her diaper anyway.  But when we got her on the seat and she got comfortable, I heard her pass a little gas, and she signed and said "mo(re)".  And sure enough, she went more!

We had another small success on Friday evening, but nothing else since.  I wouldn't say that we're fully jumping into potty training quite yet, but I'm hoping she'll be ready by the summer.  Until then, practice makes perfect, right?

Today's blessing was a really great sermon from our pastor who baptized Ella.  It was just really what I needed to hear.  He and his wife also suffered three losses before having their two boys, and they continue to be a source of hope and encouragement for us.